Murasaki Shikibu is the descriptive name of a Japanese writer who was famous for her work “The Tale of Genji”. Murasaki was the name of the female lead in the book and ‘Shikibu’ or Ministry of Ceremonials, comes from where her father worked. Murasaki came from a branch of a powerful Fujiwara family, whose males occupied most of the highest positions in the imperial government. She was born between 970 and 973 AD and had two siblings. She was a bright learner and her father allowed her to learn Chinese along with her brother.
It is unsure when Murasaki began to write. She was married to a second cousin much older than her and had a daughter in 999 AD. Her husband died shortly after, probably due to the plague that devastated Kyoto in 1000 AD. Murasaki seems to have begun writing “The Tale of Genji” shortly after this. In 1006 AD, she began serving Empress Shoshi as the lady-in-waiting. She remained in imperial service for another seven years, after which she is said to have retired and spent the rest of her life in seclusion. All through this time, Murasaki continued to write.
Apart from book that made her popular, Murasaki also wrote poetry and kept a diary that chronicles her life in court. In long passages, she mentions how she learnt Chinese listening to her father teach her brother, and how, later, she taught the empress Chinese. A lot of her everyday musings on court life also makes its way into “The Tale of Genji”. She seemed to have had a dislike for the frivolity of court life.
Murasaki often used a style of poetry called waka. This style, which preceded haiku and other popular Japanese forms, had five sets with a set number of sounds or syllabuses. The pattern was usually 5,7,5,7,7. Haiku retains the first three lines of the Waka form.
Write to me as often as their wings inscribe the clouds, the brushing wings of the wild geese heading north, never stop writing.
Aristocratic Heian women lived secluded lives and were allowed to speak to men only if they were relatives. Murasaki’s autobiographical poetry shows that she often socialized with women but had very little contact with men other than her father and brother, she even exchanged poetry with women but never with men.
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